LOS ANGELES (AP) - Two former presidents and the widow of Lyndon B. Johnson are calling on the History Channel to investigate a documentary it aired alleging President Johnson was involved in the Kennedy assassination. Lady Bird Johnson said the film "falsely and irresponsibly" accuses her husband of conspiring to kill President Kennedy.

No accusation made against Johnson "has hurt as painfully," the 91-year-old former first lady said in a Jan. 29 letter. Her husband died in 1973.

Copies of her letter were sent to the chief executives of three companies that own A&E Networks, which includes the History Channel. The letters went to Bob Wright of NBC, Victor Ganzi of Hearst Corp. and Michael Eisner of The Walt Disney Co.

Former Presidents Ford and Carter also sent letters citing the documentary, "The Guilty Men," which aired last November as part of a series of History Channel specials on the Nov. 22, 1963 assassination.

Ford, noting he was the last surviving member of the Warren Commission that determined Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in killing Kennedy, called the History Channel documentary "reprehensible."

Alleging that Johnson, as Kennedy's vice president, was part of a conspiracy to murder him is "the greatest, most damaging accusation ever made against a former vice president and president in American History," Ford, 90, wrote in his Jan. 23 letter.

The letters were released Monday to The Associated Press by Tom Johnson, chairman of the LBJ Foundation and a representative of the Johnson family.

Tom Johnson said he and three other former Johnson aides planned to meet Wednesday with executives of the History Channel and A&E Television Networks to press for an investigation and for its findings to be made public.

Nickolas Davatzes, president of A&E Television Networks, was expected to take part, History Channel spokeswoman Lynn Gardner said Tuesday.

Other Johnson aides scheduled to participate are Jack Valenti, now head of the Motion Picture Association of America; journalist Bill Moyers; and attorney Larry Temple.

"I'm puzzled, bewildered, that a distinguished enterprise like the History Channel would put on the air such garbage, such ugliness," Valenti said in November. "It makes one sick."

When the Kennedy series aired, the History Channel said in a statement that the point of view in "The Guilty Men" was "meticulously researched."

"By presenting different viewpoints we enable our viewers to decide to agree or disagree with them and to arrive at their own conclusions," the channel said.

Lyndon B. Johnson was not involved in the JFK assassination. He was, however, the most destructive politician this country has ever produced. His grave should be dug up, the coffin should be opened, and used as an outdoor toilet.

I was an 11-year-old kid when Kennedy was assassinnated. As a naieve kid I was always perplexed why everyone was asking whodunnit, it just seemed apparent to me to look at the new guy sittin' on the throne.

Ford, noting he was the last surviving member of the Warren Commission that determined Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in killing Kennedy, called the History Channel documentary "reprehensible."

________________________________________

Ford, the last surviving member of the Warren Commission that claimed Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in killing Kennedy, ----- by calling the History Channel documentary "reprehensible", - assured himself a place in presidential history as the blackest kettle to go to pot..

9
posted on 02/02/2004 6:55:41 PM PST
by tpaine
(I'm trying to be 'Mr Nice Guy', but the U.S. Constitution defines a conservative. (writer 33
)

There is a new book out "Blood, Money & Power: How LBJ killed JFK" by Barr McClellan. The author was a part of the law firm that represented Lyndon Johnson. He has a lot of evidence in the book. Johnson was part of a grand jury investigation in 1984 and the grand jury concluded that he was a part of a conspiracy to murder a man named Harry Marshall. The killer [of Marshall] was one of the men McClellan alleges was a shooter at the assassination, his fingerprint was there at the Book depository on the same floor where Oswald was. The Marshall killing was just before the assassination. I have an open mind on the subject, the author has a lot of evidence but some evidence is still in documents that won't be released until 2028. I can't say for a certainty that LBJ did order the assassination, but he did have motive and McClellan does have a good bit of evidence. The History Channel might have it right. It would be nice if it were not true, you wouldn't want to think that something like that was possible, but the evidence should be examined before the idea is dismissed. There is a website for the author that has some of the evidence and a chapter of the book posted online. http://www.barrmcclellan.com

There is NO WAY Oswald did that shooting in the manner the Warren Commission claims.

Well, if you believe Peter Jennings, Oswald was more than capable of such pinpoint shooting.

Let's see. . . to hear Pete tell it, Oswald got off three shots in five and a half seconds with a marginal weapon, scored two hits, including a fatal head shot on a moving target going away from him. And Pete would never lie about such a thing. Dear me, no.

Anyone with elementary knowledge of physics can clearly see that the Magic Bullet theory was a lie. Particularly since the biggest lie of the Theory is that the bullet hung in mid-air for almost 2 seconds between Kennedy and Connally.

I'm not sure I believe all the theories that the government, the FBI, Secret Service, the military, and the mob all conspired together... But why is it such a wild theory that more than one person conspired to kill JFK?

Gee, I hope this leads to just how Rasputin's evil twin LBJ and Ladybird got so rich on about 36K a year (I believe that was a Senator's salary in his day) and just maybe Ladybird will be forced to give it all back or go to jail.

I know about Billy Sol Estes character. If a person wants to do something illegal, who do you do it with, the local Boy Scout troop? Do you have any thoughts on the Texas Ranger who testified, Peoples was his last name. Is he a scumbag too? You are correct about Billy Sol Estes but he wasn't the only witness. Nor the only evidence. Your comment about grand juries is correct, but Johnson's lawyers [law firm] should have responded to the charge but didn't. That was one of the points McClellan talked about in the book.

I thought Arlen Spector was also involved with the Warren Commission report?

Yes, he was. I had to pull out my copy of the Warren Report I bought secondhand somewhere. Its a rare copy in that the cover is upside down for some reason. The people on the commission are separated on Page iii are separated into 3 groups:

Ford, noting he was the last surviving member of the Warren Commission that determined Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in killing Kennedy, called the History Channel documentary "reprehensible."

Ford, noted loudly that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in killing Kennedy, hoping that he would thereby not end up missing like fellow Warren Commission member and House Majority Leader Hale Boggs, who had called for the reopening of the investigation into JFK's murder.

On the day of October 16, 1972 when Boggs was to catch a plane ride with a fellow congressman from Alaska in his privately piloted light plane, a mixup left Boggs unable to reach the airfield in time for the takeoff. Helpfully, a young intern from the office of Arkansas Democratic Senator J. William Fulbright drove Boggs to make his appointment just in time, one of the last witnesses to see Boggs alive.

Like Gerald Ford, that helpful intern later became the president of the United States. But Bill Clinton probably *has no recollection* of the events of that day.

The picture you posted is a complete and utter fabrication of the relative positions of Kennedy and Connally. Connally was in a jump seat much lower than Kennedy, turned around to the right waving at the crowd, and the bullet holes were not positioned as you have them depicted. Do not get your evidence from Oliver Stone movies!

LBJ was probably the most ruthless SOB ever to inhabit the White House. No way will we ever know for sure, but it was certainly within his character to have done it.

Had LBJ remained a senator, he'd probably be thought of as one of the most respected and effective leaders in that office, if a ruthless one; as VP and president, he was horribly outclassed and stepped into a role for which his previous experience had not prepared him. It left him with the legacy of being a defeated president unable to face the humiliation of a probable second term candidacy defeat, and as the national leader ultimately responsible for the deaths of thousands of American soldiers pursuing a failed Vietnam policy.

It was much more within his character to have been brought in on the operation after it was a fait acomplii, to use his new power to ensure that the *official version* of the events prevailed. It seems unlikely that professionals planning the JFK removal would have trusted LBJ in advance, other than with tentative triual balloons about conduct if something very unlucky should happen to president Kennedy.

This photo of Kennedy taken during his autopsy shows a back wound much higher up on his back (and consistent with a straight-line entrance/exit) than your drawing depicts. Why would you lie about such a thing and show a lower wound in your drawing?

37
posted on 02/02/2004 9:06:47 PM PST
by FreedomCalls
(It's the "Statue of Liberty," not the "Statue of Security.")

This photo of the limo with the door open shows how Connally's seat is about six inches lower than Kennedy's. Your drawing shows them sitting at the same height. Having Connally six inches lower will place the projectile on a straight line exiting Kennedy and entering Connally. Your drawing shows them sitting at the same height and dislaces the trajectory. Why would you lie about such a thing?

42
posted on 02/02/2004 9:10:06 PM PST
by FreedomCalls
(It's the "Statue of Liberty," not the "Statue of Security.")

Haunting words, indeed. I was 7 when JFK was killed, and remember my mom saying even then that Oswald didn't act alone, if at all. My older sister read a copy of the Warren Report right after it came out, and said it was garbage.

QED: your knowledge of physics is just that...elementary. Nothing whatever in the evidence demonstrates your claim that the bullet "hung" in mid-air for 2 seconds, and your angular drawing is so completely contrary to fact (i.e., the actual positions of the President and Governor Connolly at the time of the shot) as to be laughable. Why not do some actual research for yourself rather than spout the lunacy du jour of the conspiracy nuts?

44
posted on 02/02/2004 9:14:21 PM PST
by TrueKnightGalahad
(It's time for us to reclaim the hill of classical Liberalism from the reactionary left.)

Very good post. I agree that we shouldn't assume that Johnson ordered it, but it's obvious he was instrumental in carrying it out. JFK made a lot of enemies and Hoover was wacky when it came to the civil rights movement, thinking that civil rights leaders were part of a communist conspiracy, so I think that they all got together and decided to do it for America, in their eyes, Johnson more for himself. Johnson had the connections to do the job, what with his way of operating when it came to Henry Marshall.

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